NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Everything that could go wrong today, did go wrong today, Jim Cramer admitted on "Mad Money" Thursday after the market's first big down day in quite some time. Cramer said the market received a healthy dose of both negative macro- and micro-data today, for which there was no place to hide.

Today's news that jobless rates were the lowest in six years may be great news for the economy and all those looking for work, but for stocks, which equate a growing economy with higher interest rates, this news was most unwelcome indeed. Higher interest rates foreshadow slower growth eventually, Cramer explained.

Then there were the disappointing earnings from tech bellwether Cisco, a stock Cramer owns for his charitable trust, Action Alerts PLUS, and Wal-Mart.

Cramer said while Cisco actually announced pretty good quarterly numbers, its outlook was grim, sending shares down over 7%. He said he's not worried about the company's workforce reduction, however, as Cisco has done many acquisitions recently and will need to reduce head counts to eliminate duplicate positions. That may set the company up for future success, Cramer noted, as expectations for Cisco are now very low.

Cramer said he couldn't explain Wal-Mart's disappointments. With Macy's also reporting dismal sales, it's clear the consumer is slowing down, which runs counter to the lower jobless data we received today.

Other warnings signs in the market include rising gold prices and rising oil prices, which signal both fear and additional hardship for consumers.

Cramer said there's two ways the market can respond to this new data: Interest rates can retreat and earnings could surprise, which would justify the market's inflated stock prices; or, more likely, prices and estimates will fall to match the new reality.

That's why Cramer told investors to exercise caution and take profits where they can in preparation for a few more down days like today.

Executive Decision: Joe Papa

In the "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer sat down with Joe Papa, chairman, president and CEO of Perrigo, the generic drug maker whose stock is up 107% since Cramer first got behind the stock in February 2010 but has been under pressure in recent weeks, possibly creating a buying opportunity.